Auburn would have ranked 14th among countries in Olympics

AUBURN – If Auburn University would have been its own country in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, its 18 medals would have tied for 14th place in the world with Spain and Canada.

The university sent 31 current and former Auburn athletes to China and ranked sixth among U.S. universities according to an article by Forbes magazine. Tiger representatives hailed from 13 countries and competed in a total of 24 events.

Auburn athletes won three gold medals, 10 silver and five bronze in 13 events. The school finished with more medals, 13, in swimming than any other school in the country.

The 18 medals tripled the former Auburn school record of six medals at a single Olympics. Auburn now has 46 Olympic medals all-time from 27 different athletes. The total number of Auburn Olympians all-time now stands at 81 individuals.